World’s first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, approved for use in Mexico

The Mexican authorities on 9 December 2015 approved the use of the first-ever vaccine against dengue fever, which will be publicly available for the first time.

French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur declared that the Mexican authorities have granted marketing authorization to Dengvaxia, the vaccine against dengue fever.

Key facts related to Dengvaxia vaccine

• Sanofi has requested regulatory approval of Dengvaxia vaccine in 20 countries across Asia and Latin America, but Mexico was the first to green flag it.

• The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) approved Dengvaxia for the prevention of disease caused by all four dengue virus serotypes in preadolescents, adolescents and adults, 9 to 45 years of age living in endemicareas.

• The COFEPRIS approval of Dengvaxia is based on results from an extensive clinical development program involving over 40000 people of different ages, geographic and epidemiological settings, and ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds living in 15 countries.

• According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published in late 2014, the vaccine had an average rate of effectiveness of about 60.8 percent in protecting against the four strains of dengue now circulating.

About Dengue

• Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.

• Overall, the disease is a potential threat to almost half of the world’s population.

• Of the estimated 100 million people infected annually, 500000, mostly children, develop dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), a severe form of the disease.

• DHF is a leading cause of hospitalization, placing tremendous pressure on strained medical resources and having a heavy economic and societal impact.

About Sanofi

• Sanofi is a French multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France.

• It was founded in 1973 as subsidiary of Elf Aquitaine.

• The company engages in the research and development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical drugs principally in the prescription market.